The current state-of-art inventions using human power are mainly based on harnessing human power at the individual level. Therefore, they are limited to producing low power output and are discontinuous. For example, rotating the crank of a clockwork radio for a few minutes produces enough power for the radio for about half hour or for several seconds of lighting.
By contrast, the present invention is based on harnessing the collective energy of a number of children, so the power output is large and sufficient for continuous operation of several lights, fans, and communication equipment for a long time.
Secondly, the power is produced as part of play and therefore separate, deliberate effort is not required to produce power.
Thirdly, the proposed approach involves low cost: a clockwork radio producing a few watts of power generally costs $50 or more. For the cost of a few hundred dollars, the hardware for the play-based power harvesting system could produce several hundreds of watts of electricity.
Finally, the new invention is eminently suited to developing countries where the main constraints are cost, ruggedness, and low-resource and skill requirements (cf. piezoelectric or storage capacitors). The pneumatic technology involved is fairly simple, well known, and requires little or easy maintenance.